


Quarter After Three

by argentumlupine



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Brothers, Community: bandom_meme, Gen, Insomnia, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-16
Updated: 2012-05-16
Packaged: 2017-11-05 12:30:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/406415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/argentumlupine/pseuds/argentumlupine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikey's there when Gerard has trouble sleeping on tour.</p>
<p>(Fic & podfic)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quarter After Three

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [turlough](http://archiveofourown.org/users/turlough)'s prompt: _Way brothers gen: Gerard always has trouble sleeping on tour_. 
> 
> Originally anon-posted to [bandom_meme](http://bandom_meme.dreamwidth.org). I recorded podfic of it and realized that anon-posting podfic... doesn't really work. So. Since I want to share the podfic, it's time to un-anon. 
> 
> *waves* Hi, I wrote and recorded fluff!

  
**download (right-click and save) or stream (click)** : [mp3 format](http://argentumlupine.parakaproductions.com/Podfic-mp3/Bandom/Quarter%20After%20Three.mp3)  


 

\---

It wasn't much. Just the quietest of shuffling sounds, barely audible over the hum of tires against road. But Mikey knew. He climbed down from his bunk, twitched back Gerard's curtain, and sat down by Gerard's feet. Gerard immediately pressed his ankle against Mikey's thigh, but he didn't look up from where his face was buried in his pillow, and he didn't say anything. Neither did Mikey. Mikey just leaned back against the wall, rested a hand on Gerard's calf, and sat in the dark, waiting for Gerard to settle.

They didn't need to talk about it, not now, not after so many years. The first few nights were rough on all of them as they relearned the rhythm of touring: travel, meals, interviews, sound checks, shows. Relearned sleeping in a bunk instead of a bed, alone instead of with their wives, with bus noise instead of the quiet of their homes. Mikey, Ray, and Frank always settled in after a few days, but Gerard... never really did. Part of it was excitement, Mikey knew. And part of it was all the coffee Gerard drank. But the main thing was... Gerard got lonely at night. He was used to having someone beside him when he fell asleep. And on nights when his brain just wouldn't shut off, especially when they were traveling overnight, tucked into small spaces, feeling the bus bump over asphalt, hearing road noise and snores, Gerard needed that comfort. Mikey knew that without it, Gerard would eventually get up and go into the lounge in frustration. Sometimes he wouldn’t sleep at all, and they’d find him in the morning pale and red-eyed, reading or doodling or just staring blankly out the window. Sometimes he’d fall asleep on the couch, and they’d find him in the morning slumped over in a weird position, and he’d wake up cramped and cranky. Either option sucked.

So they didn't talk about it. If Mikey heard Gerard shifting restlessly after the others had fallen asleep, he just slipped from his bunk and sat, pressed up against his brother, until Gerard drifted off. It might mean Mikey would go short on sleep some nights, but seeing Gerard running on joy and excitement (instead of just caffeine and adrenaline) was worth it.

Gerard turned his face on the pillow. "Thanks, Mikes," he mumbled. Mikey squeezed Gerard’s calf in reply, smiling faintly as Gerard's face relaxed, his breathing deepened.

Mikey sat there for another minute or two, watching his brother sleep, before easing himself off the mattress and climbing back into his own bunk.


End file.
